Parents irate over bus changes forcing kids to ride city transit for over an hour

Melissa Sawers with two of her three children Jude and Chloe in Chaparral. Jude will be alone on a yellow bus and Chloe and her older sister will have to take two buses and a CTrain, a 70 minute commute, to get to and from school everyday. Gavin Young / Postmedia

“It’s clear they are making decisions without consulting parents,” said Melissa Sawers, a mother of three kids in the Spanish-bilingual program at Canyon Meadows Elementary and Robert Warren Junior High.

Since the schools are only a few hundred metres apart, all three of her kids are now taking the same yellow bus. They leave and arrive home in Chaparral at the same time, allowing the eldest daughter to supervise the younger siblings until their parents come home from work.

But under CBE changes this fall, Sawers’ daughters, who will be in Grades 6 and 9, will no longer qualify for a yellow bus and instead will take two public buses and the CTrain to get to and from school, an estimated 70-minute commute, plus a 15-minute walk. The cost will total $1,400 for both girls.

“It’s a huge cost,” Sawers said. “And when I tell them maybe we should switch back to our designated school, they just burst into tears.”

Sawers’ youngest, who will be in Grade 3, will have to catch his yellow bus alone at a congregated stop, which could be as far as 2 kilometres from home, costing $335.

Through newly adopted provincial legislation, Bill 1 is eliminating transportation fees next fall for Alberta students who live more than 2.4 kilometres from their school and are attending their designated school.

Students in alternative programs will have to pay $335 for a yellow bus, or as much as $700 — $70 a month — for a youth bus pass if they are allocated to Calgary Transit. In an effort to reduce costs, the CBE has introduced Calgary Transit to as many as 18 junior high schools and will phase in more in future years.

Another part of the transportation overhaul includes changed bell times at dozens of schools. And all but 23 schools will face early Friday dismissals, introducing yet more challenges for working families.

Dany Breton, CBE superintendent of operations, said the changes will sustain growing cost deficits in the future, even though the province has invested up to $18 million for Bill 1 across the province.

He explained that while many junior high students have already adjusted to Calgary Transit, parents who enrol their kids in alternative programs should expect some unpredictability around transportation.

“The School Act only requires school boards to transport students to their regular program,” he said.

“Alternative programs are a unique decision made by parents.”

Breton added that the CBE hasn’t had time to consult with parents, blaming Bill 1 legislation for the bulk of changes that had to be made very quickly.

But Education Minister David Eggen explained that changes to bus routes, bell times or transportation fees to non-designated schools have nothing to do with Bill 1.

Education Minister David EggenIan Kucerak/Postmedia

“My staff has been in contact with a number of families that are concerned by these proposed changes — and I find them concerning as well,” Eggen said.

“Ultimately, as minister, I must approve every school board’s transportation fee schedule for this upcoming school year. My focus is on reducing the burden of these fees on parents.”

Parents say it seems as if they’re being blamed for choosing alternative programs after the CBE held open houses promoting them, inviting students from all over the city to attend.

Jennifer Zeitner, who has three kids attending a Spanish-bilingual program, worries about her two eldest who will also have to take two buses and the CTrain from their Tuscany home to Senator Patrick Burns Junior High.

Parents at her school’s meeting shared their own stories of safety worries on CTrains, including the daily stress of packed trains during rush hour.

“How can anyone expect an 11-year-old girl to try to push her way on and off a full train,” said Zeitner.

Much like the Robert Warren situation, many Senator Patrick Burns students are being phased off of yellow buses onto city transit simply because they attend alternative programming.

“These are programs that the CBE encouraged us to attend,” Zeitner said. “And now they are making it so difficult to attend those schools.”

Even families who have asked to return to designated schools are being told their community schools are full and being sent to overflow schools, Zeitner added, meaning they could still face long commutes.

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